Insecurity
by kissthesebrokenwings
Summary: He would hold on to her even if she didn't want that, but she never knew what she wanted. If he could keep her forever and a day... Sasuke/Hinata
1. Prologue

Reviews and constructive criticism is loved. Yes, there is a difference between flames and constructive criticism.

First story, but I'm sure a lot of people say that.

A modern Sasuke/Hinata Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of it's characters

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><p>The lamplight flickered– tired, though it had just been recently automatically turned on – and the cascades of black whirls it created littered the ground menacingly, disappearing, and then reappearing along with the weak light source. The moon hung brilliantly in the sky, brighter, in comparison to its contender, more so, due to its constant job to illuminate the earth at such dark hours of the night. The buildings remained stiff – as it should – and seemed to further cover the corridor of the dark alley.<p>

It almost seemed lonely, if not for the quick steps racing along the soundless corridor. Harsh pants escaped pliant lips, a feminine body easily – if not, a little clumsily – paced herself through the area, head hung low and eyes erratically measuring each step, each sound, and each moment her sneakers would edge into view in front of her as she walked. Long dark hair cascaded down her back and would have seemed lovely if not for the sweat that was beginning to form under her tender scalp, dribbling a little down her forehead and matting the strands to the sides of her face. She payed it no mind and brushed it back to the side – successfully making more strands cling to each other before finding their way back to the forefront of her pale, clammy skin.

She let out another deeper, longer breath, cutting of the rhythm of the light wheezes that had began to escape earlier. Her mental chant began, though cryptically. She would not be scared because she was proud and she was a Hyuuga, and Hyuuga's _never_ showed their fear when in a dangerous situation because –

And something snapped behind her and she was screaming with reckless abandon, drawing into a near run, almost irrationally thanking herself for wearing sneakers. She managed one sharp turn back through her fast forward pace, the remnants of the alley fading away, and the flickering lamplight long into the distance since she had already settled under a new one; brighter – and thankfully- on an open street. Its steady beam was a reassurance, no matter how artificial and she found herself slowing to a halt and thanking whatever god was out there for an empty street. Strange, but an empty street meant no one was there; therefore, no one was following her. But, unmistakably, an empty street meant that she was alone, therefore unattended, therefore by herself and subject to kidnapping.

She immediately reached into her sweatpants and almost smiled when she touched a solid rectangular object – cool to her cold and shaking clammy skin – pulling it out rapidly and pressing the button in the middle. It was red, signifying that it was the 'on' button and it was metal and pretty, signifying that it was her cell phone; a huge step considering that she was not typically in her right mind at the moment. She attempted to type something in with shaky fingers but almost dropped it when it rang.

The sound was shrill in the empty neighborhood.

"H-hello?" she touched it gently against her ear, and almost cursed at how pathetic her voice probably sounded on the other end. The placating sigh that followed signified that it was her cousin and his patience seemed to be wearing thin.

"Hinata, I already told you to be back home before 10:00." There was a pause as if daring the female to protest, before the smooth undertones continued, the heady sound of anger apparent, "It's already 12:00 and your father has been waiting"

Hinata almost winced when he had said 'waiting' instead of 'worrying'. She bit her lip in earnest and replied as calmly as her slowing heart rate would allow her, "I'm sorry Neji, I'll be home soon. I w-was just going to call-"

"Don't bother" came the abrupt reply, "I'm already on my way"

The raven-head nodded in turn, before answering verbally, "Ah, t-thank you" and remembered almost instantly that her cousin knew where she had been all along. Despite her plain attire, there was a tracker hidden in her pocket incase she were to be kidnapped. She didn't want her father to be 'waiting'. At this thought, she turned sharply back to the alley way in the distance, the flickering light now only a dot turning from a bright yellow before disappearing then appearing again.

[Corp. Oath #12: Intelligence exceeds emotion]

It was mid-afternoon when Hinata was finally let out again.

It was exactly as it sounded; she had been let out – released, like an animal from a cage as she was often viewed by her father. That apparent disgust was always sickening, his distaste at her weakness, that she wasn't her cousin. Him and his perfect intelligence, acing every subject in school, loved by everyone and admired by anyone. He was soft-spoken, a quality of his voice that caused many to swoon and he was also firm at the same time; there was never a time he had failed a job in the company.

_Neji._

And she immediately regretted it because she loved her cousin. He was as kind to her as any other person, though sometimes his politeness was often strained, but he cared in a strange sort of brotherly way. He never…

Her bottom lip quivered and she almost chastised herself for showing weakness again. She was a Hyuuga. She would be strong because she could be and what was there to be sad about? She had money and a nice house, and a caring cousin and great friends who often protected her against her father's claims of her weakness. She had everything and might as well remember that she had to be grateful. With that knowledge, she walked forward calmly out of her street and headed towards the direction of her family's company, which luckily, was only a few blocks away.

The sun was out and it was glorious and bright, and strangely, it reminded her of the flickering lamplight from the night before and sullenly, she remembered the trouble she had gotten into. _"Playing on the swings like a three year old isn't going to improve your intelligence Hinata" A disapproving stare followed, "If you use the time you were swinging and contemplating on your short life instead towards your studies, I'm sure you'll catch up to your cousin" _She remembered nodding when he had sent her to her room to study for the time she had been outside. He had let her sleep first, knowing that things couldn't run without rest.

Her musings were cut short by a car horn behind her.

"You going to get in?" Neji had pulled up behind her, car idling loftily at her side and window rolled down as a hand hung carelessly off the edge; the other smoothly resting on the wheel. He was wearing sunglasses. He wasn't looking at her, but she knew his question was directed towards her.

"No" she said to quickly, then gently paced herself, "I m-meant, I was thinking that it was a n-nice day and that I really wanted to walk to work today"

Neji looked skeptical - an emotion he showed freely towards her - made no comment, and just as smoothly, rolled up the window, tucking his hand back in. He made a choppy wave through the glass and gave a curt nod before driving off. The sound off his engine faded into the distance and more cars came into view, but she noted the way he had glanced back at her carefully before turning back to the wheel.

The raven-head returned back to her steady pace. It wasn't that she didn't want a ride from her cousin, but it was more that she did not want to get to work too early and deal with a workload that she couldn't possibly finish and further embarrass her dad with the knowledge that Neji would have easily gotten the work done in a matter of hours. There was that and the fact that she didn't want to stay in the car with him too long. He usually gave off the aura off someone unreachable and untouchable. Being in his presence made her feel humiliated almost all the time.

"I love him though" she whispered quickly under her breath. She couldn't possibly hate someone who was virtually always there for her. The tracker in her work pants made more of a literal statement.

And suddenly, it all happened so fast.

A cold hand – positively frigid – wrapped around her waist and pulled her into a corner.

For a second, Hinata was bewildered, lost in a spinning world, before she realized that the hand was still on her, which was attached to an arm, which was attached to a body, which was attached to the darkest eyes she had ever seen.

For a second, Hinata concluded that they were lovely.

The male smirked, and it was dark, like his eyes. "Hey princess" he purred and mockingly kissed her hand in the dark alley way in the middle of the afternoon with the bright sun out that briefly reminded her of the flickering lamp light.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or its characters...

Thank you for the reviews, I really do appreciate them as they always do cause me to update as soon as possible.

My writing style is rather strange and I've been told that my sentences can be long, to the point that they could be run-on sentences.

Yes, input is loved.

Note: Chapters will be longer, just because I don't like short chapters.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

**A Means to an End**

It only took a second – a rather drawn out one that seemed to only happen in movies – and Hinata finally wrenched herself away. All her thoughts centered around escaping, though she didn't want to admit that a small, miniscule part of her mind settled on the loveliness of the man's dark eyes; like charcoal. Her soft opal orbs skidded to the left of her and she could fleetingly see the open street; the open noise acting as a wonderful allure.

Then she settled back on the frame of the man who seemed quite comfortable almost incased in the shadows, the semblance of pale features appearing to be a stark contrast from the dingy environment. She then noticed – though didn't quite want to – his white t-shirt and simple black pants. The perfect definition of 'casual' or as casual as it would be to have someone staring her up and down calculatingly in a dark alley way during midday.

He seemed to notice her gaze and smiled, the monstrous grin long gone to be replaced by its almost tame counterpart. "Sorry" he began, almost apologetically, "I forgot to say, 'don't scream'".

Hinata took a step back.

He grinned and took a step forward, "The name's Sasuke" He bowed sloppily; the perfect imitation of mockery, "Pleasure to meet you princess"

Hesitantly, she turned to run. The dress pants she had chosen to wear were uncomfortable and certainly weren't serving their purpose. It was like she could feel distant memories flashing in her mind at that moment, the adrenaline surging through her veins, especially since the open street was right in front of her and Sasuke seemed to be making no move to chase after her. Then, when her feet hit the open street and Hinata could see the beginnings of the Hyuuga Company in her midst did she turn to see if the strange male had followed her. Her blouse crinkled under her harsh pants and quick breaths.

For a decent moment, she could see the business of the street, littered with cars – angry persons shouting at others who had chosen to stop at a green light for who-knows-what reasons – and she could see the crowded sidewalk, oblivious to her sudden run. And even if interest had been shown, it would have been dismissed for the fact that she was just another young woman late for work because she had missed her ride or something like that. The sun was still high – of course it would be – and the raven-head realized that it was still early in the morning and she had probably only been missing for a mere two minutes.

Nothing to worry about.

She made a motion to turn back around to her father's company – soon to be her cousin's at the rate she was going – but paused when she caught a wisp of those charcoal eyes; haunting. She froze like a deer in headlights, mid – turn, looking much like she had seen a ghost and whipped her head back as if not believing that the person would follow her.

He did though, and he seemed to enjoy the look on her face, that tame smile still littering his face – quite prettily she could have added, though at the moment he was nothing short of scary– and then he waved at her lazily. Like he knew her, he strolled with a purpose in her direction, that same casual aura around him, that smooth smile and the elegance in which he wore his clothes. And he managed everything so perfectly – like a charming snake – that people around him seemed to not notice nor care about the female whose eyes were as wide as saucers and whose frame was shaking like a withered leaf. In fact, people seemed to make space for him to stalk after her – though that was obviously the product of an addled mind – and Hinata did what she did best.

She ran – with reckless abandon might I add - and this time, didn't look back until she was at the building and wildly pressing the button for the elevator, and in her haste, clicked both the up and down arrow. If she was any other person – maybe her best friend Kiba – she would have sworn, but instead settle to politely wait for the door to open to take her away from the front desk where the receptionist was glancing skeptically at her.

When Hinata turned back to glance behind her once again, said person had already went back to work, professionally balancing between phone calls and paperwork.

No one else was in sight – specifically the lovely dark-eyed man who was following her – except for fresh workers who were just beginning to trail in. At the sight of the petite heiress, some bowed, while others chose to nod in acknowledgement, while a vast majority turned away.

Hinata ignored this and stared back at the elevator, touching its cool surface for a firm reassurance – a lonely reassurance from the stares or lack thereof.

It was okay; she was used to this and had learned to ignore it. She was not her father, a strong leader in the business industry, growing in business partners and money daily with the addition of his intelligence and common sense – something he used to his advantage daily. Due to this, Neji was seen as a great addition, his natural charisma and gentle features assured many that the Hyuuga business would continue on in his stead.

And Hinata believed that too.

There was a soft 'ding' and the elevator opened up in front of her. The raven-head blinked, startled, then slid inside.

Another slipped inside too.

_Sasuke._

She really wanted to scream, to call for her cousin, to run to her best friends, but the situation wouldn't allow since he was so close – and God, she could smell his cologne – and his smile was back in place, and his eyes seemed ever so conniving; danger. Their dark depths seemed to want to absorb her in and she would probably have disappeared into nothingness – and she almost slapped herself at the possibility of entertaining that idea or product of her over reactive imagination (but could she really blame herself?). His once casual demeanor seemed not so casual anymore in the elevator with the horrible lighting – which were a terrible fluorescent color that almost seemed neon – just both of them alone together.

And his hands – oh, his hands – were cold as he steeled his grip on her. The other palm carelessly smashed the emergency button and the elevator stopped mid run almost as if planned. "Now, let's not be hasty princess" He was too close, "I just want to talk". He forced her to sit down on the floor – single-handedly of course – and proceeded to stoop down to her level, as if he were speaking to a child. Perhaps, that was what he thought of when he looked at her.

"W-why are you following me?" Hinata pressed herself against the back wall; anything to keep the man as far away from her as possible, "What do you w-want?" and her mind visualized her lifeless on the floor of the elevator, not able to think, breathe, or achieve her goal – her one goal- to become something that would make her father proud – as common as that goal would feel to anyone else. No, instead she was being hauled to the floor and being interrogated. She took a sharp breath, her heart beating to her apparent stress, her fears and she imagined a moment where her life would possibly flash before her eyes. But – ha – it didn't and in its place, all she saw was the memory of Neji and how he smiled genuinely in such a way that she almost believed that the world was right again.

Sasuke - noticing her dilated eyes - sighed and took a step back, standing up and leaning against the elevator buttons – you know, in case she tried something – and stated calmly, "Honestly, Hinata, I just want to talk"

She shrunk back farther and squeaked, "m-make it quick because my father will figure out soon enough t-that you're here and you'll be put to jail" taking a deep breath, she stated in false authority, "I've got full protection, even though it doesn't l-look like it" Her hand closed into the folds of her pocket and squeezed the tracker for reassurance. Neji would notice her distress – of course he will – and would save her any minute that would allow.

The male smiled again in response – that dangerous one that made him look like he had just found free money and who doesn't smile at the idea of free money? "Well, I expected that. You are an heiress after all" His sarcasm oozed off his lips perfectly and he continued with a drawl, "and don't even bother calling your precious bodyguard cause he's a little held up in some traffic. Oh, don't give me that look, he's just fine" he retaliated at the sight of wide opal eyes. "Let's just get down to business" and he pulled several folded sheets of paper from his pockets, dropping them hastily at Hinata's feet, which curled instinctively at anything even remotely concerning the male.

"But Neji-" she began clumsily, but Sasuke smoothly interjected,

"-is fine, but won't be if you don't listen to me"

Hinata froze.

"Good girl" he smirked and gestured towards the sheets.

Hinata frowned, but pulled them open and apart, leafing through to get to the first page and began reading:

_...Hyuuga family, known for their prestigious company, Hyuuga Corp…_

…_wealth and various diplomatic partners…_

She let out a shaky sigh, nervous, "w-what do you want?" she ended on a pleading note, holding back the tears because he could be a sadistic person who enjoyed tears and crying and pain.

The male shook his head and leaned closer, pushing aside several more pages to find another one that seemed more important than the one Hinata held. She noticed briefly that his hands were noticeably pale, as if he hadn't seen the light in a while – and such pretty hands they were too – and she bit back a sob. She was delusional and crazy and she had no one to share it with, but with the man who had kidnapped her. Oh, why wasn't anyone coming?

"See this?" he cut off her train of thought, "It's your father with another woman" His blunt statement made Hinata look and she pulled back immediately, as if slapped.

"Where did you g-get-"

"And this?" He grabbed another sheet. It was her father's assistant, Sakura – the really intelligent pink-haired one who was really nice to her – mid handshake with someone, as if it were a business deal. And Hinata knew all the Hyuuga's trading partners and was sure she had never seen that man before. Her heart leapt as Sasuke coolly trailed on, "And this too" He went to flip the page for Hinata to see, but she gripped his hands immediately.

"S-stop" she sounded pained, "what d-do you want?" and she was in tears by now. She just wanted Neji or even her father to find her and take her home, telling her the whole time that what she had seen wasn't real.

"Alright" he had his legs crossed and was directly in front of her, "I think you see what's at stake, and could you believe me if I say that I usually don't make girls cry?" He was chuckling, "This evidence is real, believe me. And I've got more than one copy, so don't think you can run with it. I assure you, this will all go away if you just give me a small sum of money" he made small circles on the ground, "Just a small fee of $50 000" he grinned, "That's not too much for you right? And of course another fee of $8000 so this evidence doesn't 'suddenly' leak out and let's not forget $2000 for my pain and suffering"

"That's $60 000" Hinata found herself whispering, but enough for Sasuke to hear.

"See, not too much at all. In fact, I think it's rather fair. It's not as much as what other people would ask for in this situation. Right princess?" and he stood up. "I expect a payment of $5000 a month to my accounts which I will send to you and do try to withdraw a little at a time to not draw suspicion. Oh, and let's not call the police because I pull some of their strings, if you get what I mean?" he smiled, a polite business smile – how he made it to sound like he was talking about the weather, she could not comprehend – pulling her frail form up, "See? You'll live to see tomorrow and before you know it, by the end of the year, it'll be like we had never met" his nose crinkled in mock dissatisfaction, "Well, except for the fact that we met today. But, don't fear princess, we probably won't see each other face-to-face after today. That's good, yes?"

She didn't know whether to cry or laugh when suddenly the floor was moving and the door opened to reveal a frazzled pinkette. "Miss Hyuuga, I'm so glad I found you, I thought that after the alarm went off, you would be-" she paused and turned into a blubbering mess at the sight of Sasuke, "Umm, h-hello, I-"

He smiled and made a pleasant motion towards the stairs, "Bye doll" he patted the assistant's head while saying her fond pet name – no pun intended - and left just as easily as he had came.

No one stopped him.

"P-pleasant day miss" and Sakura turned and walked away too, steps almost drunk. She let out an elated sigh as she moved, "ah, I can't wait to get that paperwork started~" but she was probably referring to the male who had patted her head just seconds earlier – like a dog – Hinata had wanted to add, but she held back.

Hinata had never felt so secluded. She wanted to see Neji and –

Oh no, Neji…

And she raced down the stairs, and didn't care that she passed by Sasuke – missing his passive features that directly contradicted his whole being that she had come to know just minutes before.

He didn't seem to glance at her either.

His mission had been accomplished after all.

She just wanted to see Neji.

By the time the raven-head reached the front door, workers were already trailing in at a steady pace. Once again, some bowed and the rest resorted to either ignoring her while the rest secretly sneered at her –which weren't so secret by the way since she knew that they were doing that.

Though, she didn't care because she had to see Neji

Seconds later, she was in his arms, and she was crying much harder, not caring when others looked and her cousin started to panic.

"Hinata, what-"

She just held him tighter and told herself that she was safe because he was strong and he was perfect.

He was her knight and she was the princess.

_Princess…_

And she wretched herself away. "Ah, N-neji, I was just worried since you were so late and I thought something had happened so…"

She trailed off at his amused face, hidden quite well by his false impassiveness she had grown to hate. It was her father's training on him, no doubt. "I didn't know you missed me that much" he said, and pulled a tissue out to wipe her tears, "You look a little flustered Hinata, so why don't we take you to your office, alright?" His tone only spoke of complete tranquility and the wonderfulness of flowers, sparkling rainbows and loveliness.

His voice did have that affect on her.

She only nodded and followed him.

"We'll talk there, alright?" and she followed, only half-listening to the meaning of his words and more so to the pleasantness of the words themselves.

His pace was quick, but she didn't notice.

She wouldn't worry because Neji was there.

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><p>I think a clingy Hinata is a realistic Hinata to start off with. I want to develop her character differently; slowly, but surely.<p>

Reviews are loved of course.


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